Disclaimer: The Sookie Stackhouse Series is the creation of Charlaine Harris. Don't sue me Charlaine! I love your books.

Understanding

XV.

At midnight on September the 11th, in the darkness of the new moon, Eric held my hand as we tread the whispering path in silence. We arrived at the bounds of Cúl Dín only moments after 5 am. We had a good hour and a half before sunrise. I led him through the gardens and to the cottage on the west heath. The scent of the heather hung heavy in the air as the dew clung to the ground.

Eithne and I had tried to make the cottage pleasant and dry. I had tested it for dark-fastness many times, staying for up to an hour at a time in the dark to be sure that no small amount of light leaked through at any hour of the day.

Eric looked as if he was in Wonderland. Everything was so alive here. The air so fresh, the energy so strong in every branch or stone. He seemed to soak up the energy of the land and all the cares of his world washed away from him. He turned to me and smiled.

"It's a wonder you ever come back."

"I will always come back to you. After all, I am yours," I said with a wry smile.

When my arms wrap you round I press

My heart upon the loveliness

That has long faded from the world…

-William Butler Yeats, from Forgotten Beauty